St George's Presbyterian Church - Former

The former St George's Presbyterian Church closed about 1878, and the property is now privately owned. The first Presbyterian meeting held in the district was conducted by the Rev Peter Gunn, a Gaelic speaker and horseman, and held in the woolshed at Joseph Sutherland's Moranding Station. The Rev Gunn made annual visits to Kilmore until the appointment of the Rev James Forbes in 1846. A formal congregation in Kilmore was established in 1851, with the Rev John Hume inducted into the pastoral charge of the Kilmore congregation on 8/10/1851, with a guaranteed stipend of 200 pounds. Church services were held in the Teetotal Hall on the corner of Albert and Society Streets, until a church building was erected.  The church building was completed in September 1853, at a cost of 1,500 pounds. During the Rev Hume's ministry, dissention split the Kilmore Church into Highlanders and Lowlanders, leading to the formation of two congregation. St George's the original one, and St Andrew's the Highlanders (see separate entry - 3764). The Rev A Maxwell was inducted in 1856 to minister to the St George's Presbyterian Church, which he did until his death on 23rd May 1865. The congregation was reunited with the Presbyterian Church of Victoria on 20th May 1866. The two Kilmore Churches were reconciled and formally reunited in August 1878 as the Presbyterian Church of Kilmore. The new minister was the Rev D S Maxwell who remained for eleven months smoothing the path for his successor, the Rev John Steele MA, who served for twenty four years¹. No other details are known. More historical information/photographs, including the address, of the former church/congregation are invited.

Note 1: Kilmore on the Sydney road /by Maya V Tucker /1988 /Shire of Kilmore / Brown Prior Anderson Pty Ltd, Burwood, Vic. AND  https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/65378125